Why the topic

Pregnancy-related anxiety (PRA) is characterised by anxiety pertaining to the pregnancy, including labour and delivery, the fetus or infant’s health, the mother’s health, accessibility and quality of healthcare resources, and/or the ability to parent.1–4 PRA is a distinct and different phenomenon than general anxiety occurring concurrent to pregnancy1 and has stronger correlations to preterm birth (PTB) (birth at less than 37 weeks’ gestation) than more commonly studied general anxiety or depression.2 4–6 An estimated 85% of PTB globally occurs in Africa and Asia.7 Africa has the highest rate of PTB where some regions reach 17.5%7; pproximately 14.3% of births are preterm in Eastern Africa.